


The road to immortality

by Cherrydragon26



Series: Zombieland Saga- Alternate Universes and Stories [12]
Category: Zombieland Saga (Anime)
Genre: Drinking & Talking, Gen, I mean this happens in a bar, Storytelling, The Yugiri backstory I wanted, but didn't get, so it is a given
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:22:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24858340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherrydragon26/pseuds/Cherrydragon26
Summary: Jofuku finally reveals to Tatsumi how he became immortal. And tells him about the woman that he met and that became his constant companion.
Relationships: Jofuku & Tatsumi Koutarou, Jofuku & Yugiri
Series: Zombieland Saga- Alternate Universes and Stories [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1165088
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	The road to immortality

**Author's Note:**

> So here we are! This is the end of the series, and the end of these stories I wrote about Zombieland saga (or just used as a platform for writing). This was a long time in the making and I finally sat down to write it. Hopefully you enjoy reading it as much as you did the other stories too.

The bar was closed, so Tatsumi sat down a bit to rest. Jofuku walked past him, and put down a glass of some alcohol on the table, before him. "Here you go, a glass of my best drink on the house. You deserve it for today, you did well," Jofuku praised him, and Tatsumi nodded in answer too tired to feel anything else but his numb limbs. He lifted the glass to his mouth, and drank a sip of the alcoholic beverage that Jofuku gave him. He disappeared and reappeared in a matter of seconds, while Koutarou drank away the liquid. His boss sat opposite him, with a glass in his hand probably full of alcohol too. They sat like that in silence, drinking away their everyday problems and sorrows.

"Have I ever told you, how I became immortal?" Jofuku started and this made Tatsumi look up at him in expectation. "No, you always say you will tell me later, but you never do. In the end, I thought it would never come to it, so I stopped asking and hoping." This comment made Jofuku laugh, and he laughed for a minute, while Tatsumi only smirked in satisfaction. "Yeah, sorry Koutarou. Us old immortal people sometimes forget, that unlike us, other people don't have all the time in the world. So, we can sometimes be slow in some things, in which other people wouldn't. So, I didn't tell you, eh? Well I think now it is the perfect time to start," he said and cleared his throat, putting the glass and his hands down on the table.

Koutarou leaned closer, and fixed his dark-shaded glasses, so they wouldn't fall of his nose. "I am listening," he declared, and Jofuku smiled slightly, and began.

"A long time ago, in a country that was on the territory of China, lived an alchemist, that was very powerful and worked for the King as a sorcerer. Like any other living being, the King was afraid of old age and death, so he gave a task to his court sorcerer to find him an elixir of life, so he could become immortal. The sorcerer agreed, and started to look for information. After a couple of years, he stumbled upon a map that was sure to lead him to the elixir of life. He asked of the King to give him a ship and crew, so he could sail to where he needed to go. The King granted his request, and soon he and the ship were off to a voyage. It was a hard journey one filled with dangers and obstacles, but finally they arrived to the land where the map pointed to. However a great sea creature or a monster, whatever you want to call it, almost sank the boat, in protection of it's life or the elixir I was never sure which one was the truth."

"The alchemist and the crew of the ship that survived, returned in shame to their land and their King. The sorcerer pleaded the king to give him some of his best archers, so they could slay the monster and set foot on the land where there was supposed to be the elixir of life. The King agreed, and the sorcerer set sail again, in search of the elixir of life. While sailing through the waves, on his second voyage, he met a girl, who will later in his life become his best friend and confidant. Not a lover, but a friend, because there just weren't any kind of romantic feelings between them. However they did get along pretty well, so a friendship for the ages it turned into. She was a Courtesan, brought along to entertain the sailors and archers who were on the ship. She was of course a real beauty, and she also played the shamisen really well."

"Her name was Yugiri, and she was a woman of great elegance, power and standing. She was proud and loud, really smart and cunning, but also could be ruthless if she needed to be. All the men on board were wrapped around her finger, and me as well. Though I just really liked talking to her, because as I said she was a smart woman and knew a lot. After a long and hard journey yet again, we arrived and fought with the sea monster, finally succeeding in beating it, and coming ashore. We needed a couple of weeks to get used to this new land, to visit the natives and find our way around. When we did, I could finally start looking for the elixir of life."

"I found it soon enough, and went with a couple of archers and other folks. Yugiri also went with me, because....... well it was because she wanted to go. And I along with everyone else, couldn't really change her mind all that much. So we came and I finally got my hands on the elixir of life. Unfortunately instead of going back to China, and giving the elixir to the king, I stayed there and became a really prominent figure. I got greedy and stupid, and I didn't listen to Yugiri and her complains that if we don't go back, someone will try to kill us for the secret of the elixir. I argued back, that it would be the same in China. And Yugiri agreed but told me they would kill us much easier here, than under the King's protection. She was right of course, but I was too stupid to see it. I don't know if I mentioned, but the place we traveled to was Japan in the early days of it's civilization. So, we stayed here, against her wishes, and in the end she was right. They killed her because of me."

"They saw how close we were, and they thought that along with me I made her immortal too, or I told her how to become one, using the elixir of life. I didn't of course. Or better said, I wanted to, but she didn't want to know. She didn't want to become immortal, and she didn't want to know anything about the process or the makings of elixir of life. When I asked her why, she laughed and said that it was not what she wishes for. It is not what she strives for, what she wants and needs out of life. She told me she was not afraid of death and old age, or at least she was afraid of it, as any normal human is. And like any other normal human, she knew it was irreversible and final. Yugiri didn't want to play with nature, or to go against god or gods that made this land for what it is. She laughed at me and my inability to understand her reasoning and said simply it was not her style."

"And you know only now, after living for how many years, do I think I understand what she meant. And I always get surprised by how wise she was even then at 19 years of age. In 19 years of her life, Yugiri understood life better than me. Nowadays I wish I listened to her, and never drank the elixir of life. Wait, I am getting of topic, where was I? Ah, yes the culmination. The tragic ending. As I said, even if she didn't know anything about immortality, other people thought she did. So trying to get information out of me, they kidnapped her and tortured her. And they made me watch it. I was so close to breaking, so close to telling them the secret, but yet again it was Yugiri who saved me, and helped me escape."

"Before they beheaded her, she told me to run. When her head fell on the ground a group of soldiers attacked the kidnappers and in the confusion I managed to escape. Later I found out, that Yugiri knew about the kidnapping, and she decided to use herself as bait, so I could run away and hide. I owe a lot to her, and her brilliance. Maybe not my life, because I am immortal, but for helping me keep the secret to immortal life all this time, and for succeeding in living a semi normal life after that. After that incident I traveled the country, and tried to keep walking around, so that people don't remember me or recognise me anymore."

"And that is the story of how I became immortal," Jofuku finished and drank a bit more of his drink. "Wow! That is an incredible story! Wait, is Jofuku your real name?" Koutarou asked, excitedly and Jofuku smiled sadly, his feelings still strong even after all this time. "No, that is not my real name, or better said the name I was born into. The first name I got was Xu Fu," Jofuku admitted, and Tatsumi acknowledged it, but continued to shout, like the story gave him more energy than he had all day. "Did you say she was an Oiran?" Koutarou asked, and Jofuku looked at him in confusion and nodded. "Excellent! That means if I succeed in reviving her, I can help her rejoin the band along with others I plan to incorporate into the group," Tatsumi shouted in anticipation, Jofuku only raising his eyebrow in surprise.

"I am not sure that is a good idea," Jofuku said, and Tatsumi asked him why. "I already told you, she didn't want to be immortal. Making her a zombie, is practically making her immortal, just in a different more harder way."

"I will find a way to change her mind! Don't you worry, I just need your permission and help to do so. So do I have it?" The glasses wearing guy asked, making Jofuku huff. "I already told you I will help you. And if you actually succeed in making her come alive, it will be nice to see her again. Maybe she actually lets me apologize this time," Jofuku concluded, and Tatsumi beamed at him, continuing to talk and jump around like an excited kid. While the bartender sighed, and wondered how will the meeting between them turn out this time.

**Author's Note:**

> The inspiration for this story came from the Zombieland Saga Wiki, and the Xu Fu wikipedia page. I just incorporated what I found there in this story, so it is not completely mine.


End file.
